Region hunkers down for deep snow

With Gov. Patrick declaring a state of emergency and banning non-emergency traffic from the state's roads as of 4 p.m. this afternoon, there were very few vehicles traveling on I-290 in Worcester during today's Nor'easter. This photograph was taken from the Marsh Ave. overpass, looking west on I-290. (T&G Staff/PAUL KAPTEYN)

The flakes began falling as fine as confectioners' sugar, but by noon Friday the winds had begun to pick up, snow was slicking the streets and a state of emergency had been declared.

A powerful snowstorm rolled into Massachusetts Friday afternoon, shaking up what had been a tame winter with forecasts of up to 2 feet of snow overnight and winds expected to gust up to 41 mph. Streets and highways were largely deserted by nightfall, as residents heeded days of warnings to hunker down as the region’s first major storm of the season swept north.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick issued an executive order banning all cars from roadways after 4 p.m., or motorists would face a $500 fine. The last time a similar ban was imposed was in the aftermath of the Blizzard of ’78, state officials said.

The ban, which included exemptions for public safety, media, essential health care employees and others, appeared to be largely heeded by sundown. Most businesses and restaurants closed for the night, save for a few pizza places and convenience stores.

“We’re right next to Clark (University), so the students can walk over,” said Ricardo Ortega, manager of Uncle Sam’s Pizza on Main Street in Worcester, which planned to stay open until 2 a.m. “Otherwise we would have closed.”

Into the evening, plows had full access to city roads, which were virtually empty. Pedestrians leaned into the wind and took advantage of the plowed streets and light traffic. A few plow operators waited in line at Kelley Square Pizza, which remained open but overlooked an eerily quiet Kelley Square — there would be no confusion about the right of way through the notorious confluence of streets Friday night.

Snow fell steadily throughout the night, and the wind increased noticeably after 7:30 p.m. Worcester had 6.9 inches of snow at 7 p.m. while 5.5 inches was on the ground in Grafton, according to unofficial readings.

Hotel Worcester, near the DCU Center in downtown Worcester, still had rooms available in the early afternoon. However, even hotels in the neighboring communities, such as La Quinta in Auburn, had no vacancies.

Only the diehards, or the foolhardy, took to the streets amid warnings of “treacherous,” “life-threatening” and “impossible” travel conditions.

“What we used to call a heavy snowfall — an inch an hour — is no longer,” said Bill Simpson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton. “We are looking at a potential of up to 2 to 3 inches an hour through the night. It will begin to taper off by late (Saturday) morning.”

The first flakes began falling around Worcester County at 9 a.m. and increased as the day progressed. With the storm expected to intensify after noon Friday, restaurants did a brisk business with people hoping to get a quick meal out and be home safe before the worst of the storm hit.

“The storm has been really good to us so far,” said Reese Cordio, waiting the counter at a packed 50/50 diner in Fitchburg.

Ms. Cordio said they had a family of six at 5:30 a.m. looking to enjoy breakfast together before the storm. Several miles down the road in Leominster, Julie Cordio, a relative of Ms. Cordio, said the West End Diner was seeing a brisk breakfast business.

“You just missed our full house,” she said. “Normally on Friday we have breakfast and lunch business, but breakfast was busy today.”

The West End Diner was one of the few restaurants open the morning after the December 2008 ice storm. Having no power was not a problem then, and Ms. Cordio said the restaurant will be open Saturday whether there is power or not. The restaurant has all gas stoves, and will do what it did in 2008 — heat the coffee on the stovetop and light the restaurant with lanterns or flashlights until there is enough available light.

Unitil was bracing for power outages, opening emergency operations centers in all of its service areas Friday afternoon, and planning to staff them into today. In the event of an outage, Unitil planned to restore power as conditions allowed overnight, with an emphasis on public safety and working with first responders to address any wires down.

Unitil spokesman Alec O’Meara said that if blizzard conditions prevailed, it would be hazardous for bucket trucks to extend arms. He said that could delay power restoration. Unitil had more than 140 crews throughout its system, including bucket trucks, diggers, wire down teams and tree crews to assist each of its regional operations centers, with crews arriving from as far as Ohio and Michigan to assist in restoration efforts.

As of 8:30 p.m., while 40,000 customers were without power statewide, outages in Central Massachusetts were minimal.

As in other communities, the Leicester Emergency Management team worked to coordinate the town’s response to what could be at least 2 feet of snow — when to open the shelter, when to close the roads, what manpower was available and, most important, to make sure everyone is on the same page to provide assistance where and when it is needed.

“I am jumping right in,” said Matt Thompson, Leicester’s emergency management director, a position he has held for only 39 days. “This is my first real event, and it’s just a matter of making sure that everything is ready.”

For his part, Mr. Thompson was monitoring the storm via scanner, radio and various media outlets. He set up a Facebook page to post updates for residents.

“I will be monitoring the scanners and radios all day long, at least until I lose power,” Mr. Thompson said, adding that he had already moved the generator close to the house and gassed up all of his equipment.

In Sterling, while they were preparing for 2 feet of snow, they were not preparing for the end of the world.

“At this point, we are treating this as a normal storm,” said Bill Tuttle, DPW director, Friday morning.

However, “normal” is a term relative to storms already experienced — the ice storm of 2008 and the October snowstorm of 2011. With the trucks fueled and a response planned, how do you physically prepare yourself for a storm?

“That’s a good question,” Mr. Tuttle said. “It’s not easy to prep for it, but everyone here is prepared to be here all day. We did stock the refrigerator.”

Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong had expected to keep City Hall open all day, but decided to close it at 2:30 p.m. as the storm intensified and all nonessential vehicles were ordered off the roads by 4.

“With only up to 4 inches of snow predicted by the end of the day, that is not enough to close down city operations,” Ms. Wong said.

Leominster and Gardner city halls were open as well. Crews in Fitchburg started treating the streets in the morning with a chemical mixture and sanding where necessary, in hopes of managing the first layer of snow and keeping the roads clear for emergency vehicles.

As Ms. Wong drove around the city, she noted that many businesses had closed in anticipation of the snowstorm, including the Bank of America branch, which she said had a line out the door for people waiting to use the ATM.

Worcester City Manager Michael V. O’Brien declared a state of emergency at noon.“People should use caution on the roadways and only be on the road for emergency purposes,” said Colleen Bamford, a city spokeswoman. The city’s Emergency Operations Center is fully staffed and will remain so for the duration of the storm. Meanwhile, residents are being urged to call (508) 929-1300 for storm-related concerns, leaving the 911 lines open for emergencies only. City residents can sign up with ALERTWorcester for storm-related information at www.worcesterma.gov/ready.

Worcester’s Department of Public Works and Parks started plowing city streets at 2 p.m.; it dispatched more than 400 pieces of equipment.

The snowstorm will not cancel Masses this weekend in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, but spokesman Raymond Delisle urged people to use discretion when deciding whether to attend. He said Catholics do not have to go to Sunday Mass when there is a grave difficulty in fulfilling the obligation. Unsafe travel conditions allow individuals to be excused, he said. The Archdiocese of Boston urged the same precautions.